All those with your own horse property, talk to me about your commute!

[awaywego]

As someone who is trying to ride 2-3 horses regularly + work full time, I don’t see how it would work with a full time job + barn work to do at home if you have any kind of sizable commute (more than 1/2 hour). Perhaps if you can set up the barn so the work is minimal (ie, horses live out most of the time, auto waterers, etc) - but also expect to spend lots of weekend time doing all the farm maintenance stuff that you won’t have time for during the week. I currently commute 1 hour to work, 25 min to barn. So assuming I’m not doing any barn work, I really only have time to AT BEST ride 2 per weeknight.

In my experience, it’s a really quick way to burn out with the commute + barn work + riding 3. If you were really only riding 1+, it would seem much more do-able to me. I suppose it depends on how much riding you want to do + how much life outside of horses (if any) you want to have.

ETA: since geography is pertinent to this thread, I live in southeastern PA, work in downtown Philadelphia, so long commutes to ride are par for the course around here

[trubandloki]

My commute is approximately 45 minutes each way. That is mainly because we commute during the not quite rush hour times. (I work from 7am until 4pm.)

The biggest issue I have is during the months where the days are really short there is pretty much no time that I am at home during day light.
I thankfully have good lighting in and around my barn so doing chores when it is dark is no big deal. It does limit my ability to ride though.

[danacat]

I have a ‘work at home job’ (movie industry - thank gawd for Skype + email) … have 5 horses on my farm and live there of course – do almost all of the work myself …and it’s VERY HARD! I barely have time to ride, am exhausted most of the time – farm is a money pit – wonderful life for the horses though! And there are times when I love farm life. It can be a real joy in many ways!

But…I would board all my horses in a second !!! IF I knew they would get the exact same kind of care I give them. Not possible! So having my own place is a ‘life style’ sacrifice on my part.

Moral of the story: Adding a ‘drive’ to work of any length of time – plus hours spent at work – would all consprire to tax my energy and horse-time even more + the farm itself would suffer… unless I was stinking rich and could hire full time help. Wish I could hire full time help now!

[2DogsFarm]

When I bought my place I thought I’d have to keep my City job & that meant a 1h+ commute.
I lucked out & found a job 10min from the farm & never looked back.
BUT: I’d been boarding 2 1h from home & driving out after work & on weekends - usually 3-4 days/week.

And I am nowhere near rich. especially since I retired 3yrs ago & SSI is my sole income.
Still, I manage to keep my place quite livable for both me & horses.
I have a trainer who comes to my place along with a shoer & vet.
I had used both the shoer & vet for almost 10yrs when I bought the farm & made sure they were willing to come just for my 2.
Trainer I met through a BO & she was willing to make the trip 2X/month - going on 10yrs with her as well.

I had worked in barns so knew what I wanted as far as setting up so work is minimal.
When I was working, morning chores took me ~1/2h before work.
Still not more than that unless I decide to strip stalls < happens every couple of months.
Horses have free access to stalls 24/7/365 & I ride as often as I want - allowing for Weather Weenie days.

Sorry, I wandered OT, but commuting was not a deciding factor when I bought the farm.
In hindsight I would have made sure I had Eyes in the neighborhood if I’d had to keep my City job.
A lot of my neighbors are horseowners & most of them work away from home too. We look out for each other.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

Location was my first priority after number of acres. 5 minutes to one office (3 miles out of a small town) and 20 minutes to my other office, which is in the city.

[FatCatFarm]

I drive 62 miles each way and yes, it definitely affects/impacts your horse keeping/farm up-keep and riding goals. Especially in the winter when I leave in the dark and get home in the dark. It sucks being out repairing fences after dark; or putting round bales out after dark. Yes, of course, it can be done, but it can be a drag. Much less of a bother when it’s warmer and the days are longer

Because both me and my husband are away from home long hours during the week, I don’t keep anyone in a stall unless there’s inclement weather - snow & ice - or an injury. In the winter, I do sometimes keep them in over night to be warm and dry. But basically I feed and turn out which means I only have to do stalls a couple of times a week. I never “strip” stalls any more; just take out and add fresh shavings. We put out round bales when there is no grass and I only keep enough square bales on hand to have have to go in the stalls intermittently or on the horse trailer and at a horse show.

You find ways to streamline things so you maximize your barn time. I feed the horses before work and after I come home. I ride in the evenings during the week as I leave home at 6am since my commute takes anywhere from 1.4 to 2 hrs, each way.

We live South of Atlanta. Sure, we could have found property a bit closer, but especially on the Northside we probably could have only affored a fraction of the 17.5 acres we have South of the City. Unfortunately as a paralegal/executive assistant, to work locally, I would literally have to take a $35k pay cut, which given that I have a horse habit, I won’t do. I work to live and not the other way around. My salary helps me afford to do the things I enjoy. We live in a small town and we are 10 mins outside of it; not much traffic. I love it there and I LOATHE going back into Atlanta because the traffic is never ending. So there are trade offs.

I spend a small fortune each month on Audible which at least makes my commute into Story Time. DEFINITELY makes the long commute much more tolerable. Even with XM/Sirius radio and a huge song/CD collection, there’s only so much of that I can tolerate for long.

But back to the farm. Consequently because me and my husband spend so much time off the farm with work, and also having a marriage, a daughter, and aging parents. There is always something that needs to be fixed, improved upon, mowed, cleaned, painted, etc… Unfortunately, my husband is not a handy kind of guy who enjoys just fixing and improving things which means that more often than not, I am management and labor. Meaning I’m the impetus for a project and have to be involved in said project until it is completed. For a city boy, my husband has accomodated pretty well, but having a farm does mean that a lot of weekends there’s working all week at the job then working at least all day, one day of the weekend, on farm stuff. There are certainly worse ways to spend your time and money, but be sure you love it before you go out and buy one. They’re wonderful in many ways but in general, they are a time sucking money pit. We have 4 horses (3 mine; 1 daughter’s; 5 minis (3 horses; 2 donks); and 3 Shetland sheep wethers, plus 10 dogs and a whole herd of cats. Our place has also become something of an Island of Misfit Toys.

Having said all that, I always wish I had more time there. To get all the things done that need doing (and more money of course for all of that); more time to ride; more time to just sit and enjoy it. I do lower level 3 Day Eventing and still manage to go to several schooling shows and the occasional horse trial a year and do pretty well. But you do have to be pretty industrious and militant about prioritizing; that and letting go of being a neat freak.

ETA: To give a little more perspective, full board in my area costs $800+/- a month, for a little more than half of that each month, I able to keep what I have at home. I call it in lieu of my fancy gym membership.

[froglander]

My husband commutes 50 miles one way (100 miles round trip) every day so we can live out here. It usually takes about an hour. He doesn’t mind the morning commute it’s the evening commute that he finds draining. I am currently working a part time job locally that is about 10 miles away (15-20 min) as we live outside of town. I am job hunting so looking at likely joining the 45-60 min commute range once I find something. Where we are, there isn’t really the option of land close to the city unless you win the lotto So we are close to family and love living in the hills in central Florida (most of Florida is flat, flat, flat).

[BeckyS]

My drive is a total of seven minutes.

Could probably make more if I took a commute of 45 minutes, but being close to home is nice for vet visits or any other emergencies.

[Mango20]

My commute is 34 miles, mostly highway. When I leave the house before 5 am, it takes 40 minutes. I work a 9 hour day, so at 2:45, it takes about 45 minutes to get home. That’s not too bad.

[ladyj79]

@Gloria

My commute is 19 miles, which is the maximum I am willing to undertake.

My 19 mile commute into DC might take 30 odd minutes at 5am. It could take 2.5+ hrs at 5:50…or anywhere from 5:50-10am or 3:30-8pm.

My 62 mile commute from the same location in SoMD to Fredericksburg rarely took more than 75 minutes.

It entirely depends on your location. I was perfectly fine with my 62 mile commute. I found years of my 19 mile commute really really took their toll.

[WhoaNellie44]

My commute is 30-45 minutes (25 miles), one way. I work Mon-Fri and get about 24 mpg.

I have/had horses at home, boarded, and in training. Right now I have no horses at home and I miss it. I usually have a couple at home and one away. Maintaining horse property is quite a bit of work to do it well. Also, I rarely ride at home. I don’t have an indoor arena and for some reason I’m just not motivated to ride at home. I would think about what kind of riding you like to do before making a decision. It’s nice being able to look out the window and see your horses and know that they are being cared for the way you want, but it’s also nice having people to ride with at the barn.

[costco_muffins]

My commute is 10 minutes - I teach about 6 miles away from my farm at the local elementary school. My husband’s commute was about an hour each way - at a total of 30 miles. His commute length means that if he were to have his own farm and I weren’t in the picture, he would have no time to ride or do anything enjoyable besides chores.

[Guilherme]

OP, if you’ve not already done so read this thread. Lots of good information: https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/around-the-farm/9702623-costs-of-hay-and-shavings-etc-when-owning-a-boarding-facility

G.

[Pony_Fixer]

I thought very hard about this myself. Went so far as to lease a farm for a year to make sure that I could handle a farm/upkeep/life/commute by myself and still be a good single parent. I found that I could handle it all, although I didn’t have much of a social life.

So last August I took the plunge. BUT (and this is huge), it took me 2 years to find the “perfect” place. It had to be basically turn-key and an easy set up. I eventually found all I wanted (and more), and while it was at the top of my price range, the mortgage is basically what I was paying in rent + board.

My commute is 25-30 minutes. 30 was my limit. My horse lives out, with free access to his stall at all times, and he is kind enough to not potty in his stall or the run in. In the last 7 months I’ve only had to feed 10 bales of hay total because the pasture was well maintained (and most of that was when he was in for 2+ weeks with and abscess). The property has a small arena that needs work, and garden that needed work, but was otherwise perfect out of the box (there are definitely “wants”, but there were very few “needs”.

I have since found a partner that enjoys tinkering outside and mowing, so I lucked out there. However, I also have a reasonably priced handy man that can do anything from Round Up the fence lines to set new fence to plumbing, electric, etc. THIS IS CRUCIAL IF YOU ARE ALONE OR NOT HANDY!!!

You will spend all your “down time”, if there is such a thing, doing stuff. I mow, a lot, because most of my 6.5 acres is grass. I am always finding projects in or out of the house. The fields need to be dragged, the fencing needs to be monitored and maintained, etc. But I like doing that kind of stuff so while it is drudgery occasionally, 90% of the time I like it.

[TheJenners]

Mine is 11 minutes per the map, eight minutes in real life.

[Palm_Beach]

No one has mentioned MOWING. Right about now most people need to get on the mower and top the grass. So in addition to regular barn chores, riding, working and commuting, you will need at least a couple hours a week to mow from April - October. Even if your horses keep the pastures grazed down, the weeds and grasses they don’t like will grow like crazy.

[Sancudo]

54 miles… in south Florida traffic, so that’s an hour and a half one way. I only have 3.5 acres, so mowing and upkeep is minimal, repairs are done on weekends. I recently have a self care boarder that has lightened my worry significantly by being there several times a day, and I do night check for her. I’ve also wrangled some work from home days which preserves my sanity (and gas money). I’ve had a barn for 12 years, and much prefer to boarding. I found boarding was more stress, more money, and not at all time saving as I was out there driving to the barn several times a day anyway.

[DiamondJubilee]

My commute is 35mins one way. I have 4 ponies at home, they are turned out at 5:30 and I muck stalls right after morning grain and then set up feed for the pm. I bring them in anywhere between 5;30-9 depending on the time of year.

I prefer to have mine in stalls at night as they are show ponies and I prefer them to be used to being in a stall. Plus we are on a busy road and I’ve had people run into my fence, and I’ve had the ponies break through a gate. Twice…Not something I want to deal with in the dark on a busy road. But that is my choice. They could live out to ease up on chores.

It is dark in the am and dark in the pm through the winter so I don’t ride after work during the week. I’m a weekend warrior through the winter months. My husband set up a pole light for me so I can put hay out into the paddocks, and pick the paddocks when needed. This was a nice addition.

Now that its lighter until after 8, I’m able to ride when I get home. I only have 2 in training/showing right now and I go between riding and driving when the weather is good (no indoor here). It works well for me and I have enough energy to do so. We do catch up on weekends though. My husband is a grass fanatic and does cut/weekeat our 10 acres 2 x week - and in the dark many times. They do make headlights on tractors, so he keeps cutting lol!

[shakeytails]

22 miles. About 25-30 minutes, depending on which roads I take. I could work in the closer city (about 10 miles), but pay isn’t as good. I’m a nurse so I can work about anywhere. I interviewed once for a job in Louisville once (a little over an hour’s drive)- the pay was great, but on the drive home I decided no freaking way would I deal with that traffic even if it was only 3 days a week!

[js]

Before I retired my commute was roughly 25 minutes, 30 if traffic or I was just not driving in a hurry. For me, I wouldn’t want more than that. With a 25 minute commute I could get home at lunch check on horses, take blankets off, put them in if bad weather was coming etc. You need to have a flexible job that allows you to rush home for vet appointments if you have a sick horse, same is true for farriers if you have one that likes working during the week 8-5. That means you may end up using leave time for appointments.

My advice, be honest and realistic with yourself and buy below budget so you aren’t strapped for cash. You’ll need that extra money for all those unseen things that come up.